Let us make art

Lettuce dipped in food coloring was part of a recent art installment I saw at the Künstlerhaus Bethanian. This particular work is by artist Elizabeth Willing. What do you think? Is this art of lettuce?

Cafe al fresco

The wonderful days of summer are almost here and it looks like this cafe is well-prepared to welcome guests to its patio. For more signs, take a look at Signs, Signs.

Tierpark bear

 

Finding a Buddy Bear is always such a treat! This colorful model can be found in  Hauptbahnhof. He was painted in 2006 to commemorate the 50 year anniversary of Berlin's Tierpark, not to be confused with the Zoological Garten.

Decorative mural

I think it's nice when boxes and buildings are painted to make them a little less dull. This is a utility building that stands on Breitenbachplatz, a small square with a U-Bahn station of the same name nearby. Interestingly, though the mural states this is Wilmersdorf the Wikipedia entry for the square says it is in Steglitz-Zehlendorf and the entry for the U-Bahn station says this is Dahlem. A mystery for the ages! It's Monday again and you can find more murals here.

PS: For those who are interested, I saw Mozart's The Magic Flute this weekend at the Komische Oper. It was a wonderful production done in a 1920s, silent film style. You can read more about it here or see pictures here.

Delicious bench

I have to admit, I love Ritter Sport chocolate. Finding this bench at Berlin Hauptbahnhof was definitely a sweet surprise. I hope you are having a delicious weekend as well. Last night's opera was spectacular - I love living in a city where so much creativity abounds!

Das Schloss

Here's a look at the gardens of Schloss Charlottenburg. If you turned right around, you'd see the waterfront where I took yesterday's duck picture. 

This week seems to have really flown by! I hope you have some nice plans for the weekend. I'm meeting with friends tonight to play cards and tomorrow evening I'm going to see Mozart's Magic Flute. In between, I hope I'll find some time for a little golf!

I see you!

I found this colorful man hanging out in the gardens of Schloss Charlottenburg. I don't know what kind of water fowl he is, but maybe some of my expert readers can help out with his identification? He was really shaking his tail feathers for me, I probably would too if I had such beautiful plumage.

ETA: Thanks to TexWisGirl and Linda for identifying this fellow as a Mandarin duck.

Memorial stones

Seen outside the Hamburger Bahnhof. These stones are inscribed with the names of artists who have died as a result of HIV/AIDS. For more signs, take a look at Signs, Signs.

Spirals

Last year I purchased a yearly card to visit all the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. It's not that expensive and I thought it would help me get out and about more. I recently realized however, that I haven't been using it enough. So I hope you won't mind a tour through Berlin's art world. 

Last week I took you along to see the contemporary art at the Hamburger Bahnhof and today we're looking at the beautiful dome in the Berggruen Museum. Unfortunately, I can't show you any of the actual art as photography was officially not allowed (I did see many people breaking this rule, however). Heinz Berggruen's wonderful collection includes many Picassos, Klees and Matisses. He finally returned to Germany in the late 1990s after living most of his adult life in the US and worked with the state of Berlin to open a new space to showcase these works. He was a personal friend of Picasso and a great patron of the arts. Before his death in 2007, he was often seen walking through the museum, looking at his paintings and talking with visitors.

Street art

A typical scene in Kreuzberg. For more murals, take a look at Monday Mural.

Another Anselm

Anselm Kiefer's works make up a large portion of the permanent collection at Hamburger Bahnhof. This one is entitled Schechina which comes from Hebrew and is often translated as arrival. He did several variations on this theme, you can read more about the series here.

Appreciating the art

I enjoy taking pictures of people looking at art. This pair seems to be very engrossed with this work and I can certainly understand why as I also spent quite some time looking at all the details. It's a work by Anselm Kiefer entitled Lilith am roten Meer. It's not exactly a happy piece, but it's definitely meaningful. 

On a lighter note, the weekend is here. Hope you have some big plans. I hope to enjoy the nice weather on the golf course and I'm going to see Carmina Burana. Fun times ahead!

Chairman Mao

Andy Warhol is one of my favorite contemporary artists. I especially like the way the museum has presented this particular piece. Although this painting commands the attention of anyone in the room, you can't help but smile at the use of eye shadow and lipstick on the former dictator. And the polka dot style Mao heads as a backdrop for his portrait further undo his dominance.

Signs as art

I recently visited the Museum for Contemporary Art at the Hamburger Bahnhof. Unfortunately, the museum (like many here in Berlin) is undergoing renovations and parts of the collection were not on display. I did however enjoy seeing some of the works of Joseph Beuys. Bueys was a masterful sculptor, but he is mainly remembered for his later works of performance art. These chalkboards are what remains of a performance entitled Directional Forces of a New Society.  It was quite an interesting piece, I'm sure it was even more so at the original event. For more signs, visit Signs, Signs.

New and old

The Bode Museum makes a good first impression when you see it jutting out from the Museum Insel for the first time. I love how this scene incorporates both old and new. Hope you enjoy it too!

Seven steps

You can find the seven steps to enlightenment here on the old section of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery. Even if you don't reach the ultimate stage, you can enjoy the bright colors! For more murals, visit Monday Mural.

Traditional view

A last look at the glass cupola that sits on top of the Reichstag. I thought a full-frontal view would give you a better idea of how the structure looks. Hope you've enjoyed the short look around and that you're having a nice, sunny weekend so far!

Blue skies

A beautiful blue sky peeks through the glass dome of the Reichstag. Hope your weekend will be a sunny one too! For more skies from around the world, visit Skywatch.

Reichstag geometry

All those wonderful lines just call out for black and white - I hope you like it this way too!

The Kreuzburger

I love the name of this burger joint - a play on words on the district it's located in, Kreuzberg. For more signs from around the world, check out Signs, Signs.

Cherry tree benches: year two

These beautifully shaded benches are not far from my home. At this time last year the blossoms were already fading, creating a wonderful cherry snow. I guess spring is a little later this year!

Angels among us

Another find in Kreuzberg. The designs to her left and right resemble angel wings to me, although she looks a little heavy with the weights of the world. Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend, the weather here was slightly better than expected so I did get a little walking in - both on the golf course and in the forest. Head over to Monday Mural for more murals.

Strong man

Do you remember the strong woman from a few days ago? Here is her partner, the strong man. He does not seem to be aging as well as she is, he's got quite a few cracks in his torso!

Reichstag reflections

If you are in Berlin, a visit to the Reichstag is a "must". You have to request an entrance time either online or at the nearby booth, but it's worth the wait. This fantastic glass dome was designed by British architect Norman Foster. It's a great mix of old and new - here's a look at the Reichstag facade so you can see the old part. And you can see more reflections at Weekend Reflections.

Hope you have some great plans for the Easter weekend. My husband and I wanted to go hiking nearby and play some golf, but the weather reports are not looking so good. Maybe we'll just sit at home and eat chocolate instead!

Strong woman

It takes some strong arms to hold up a building. In fact, it looks like this lady is doing it just one-armed!

April theme day: Shy selfie

I am sure the artist would appreciate my entry for this month's theme day - a selfie within a selfie! I recently went to see the Vivian Maier exhibit at the Willy Brandt House. She was a woman ahead of the times, she loved street photography and creative self portraits, like this one. To see more of her work, just click on her name above. And you'll find more examples of shy selfies here.